


The Caged Bird Dreams of Clouds

by astrospecial



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Introspection, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:55:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26333023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrospecial/pseuds/astrospecial
Summary: Barnaby and his dreams.
Relationships: Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks Jr./Kaburagi T. Kotetsu
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44
Collections: pine4pine 2020





	The Caged Bird Dreams of Clouds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ziskandra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziskandra/gifts).



Branded into Barnaby’s dreams were a jumbled face, a gun to his temple, and flames. Without fail, these nightmares plagued him. Some part of him was aware it was a dream, but his voice would catch in his throat and the only release would come from the twitch of the person’s trigger finger. He’d awake, sweating, between one and four in the morning. That was when his day began.

But somewhere in between meeting Kotetsu and _everything else_ , nightmares were replaced with dreams. 

The first time he dreamed of him, it was after a particularly hard day of work. Fire Emblem had snagged the criminal— Kotetsu’s power had unfortunately run out just as the NEXT threw him into the wall— and Barnaby hadn’t kept his temper in check. When he saw his body hit the building, the crash thundering in his ears, he couldn’t think. His body had tensed, cold fear had trickled down his spine, and before he knew it, he was by Kotetsu’s side, cursing at him for losing points even as he helped him to his feet. 

Kotetsu’s bruises followed him into his dreams. 

In his waking life, Barnaby didn’t think he had so much of Kotetsu’s body memorized. But in the locker room— not the one at Apollon, but the Hero Academy— Kotetsu was there in his undersuit, pressing a bruise on his wrist like he had that afternoon.

Kotetsu looked up at him. When he did, Barnaby saw himself through his eyes. He saw his red face, how his teeth bit his lip, how his hair was damp with sweat. A wave of want— Kotetsu’s— coursed through him. The vision left when Kotetsu spoke: “Bunny, I’m in really bad shape.” For emphasis, he pushed his arm out, showing off the torn fabric, the cuts, the bruises. The more Barnaby stared, the worse it got.

He walked to him, held his arm gently, and examined it. Then he looked up into Kotetsu’s eyes. They were wide, unsuspecting. Barnaby thumbed over a bruise to see how they narrowed. 

“You are,” Barnaby whispered. He somehow knew that there was someone outside the locker room and that if he was any louder than he was, all of this would disappear. “Do you know how I’ll make you feel better?”

Kotetsu shook his head. He had that look of absolute trust on his face, and although Barnaby had another suave line planned, he kissed him without another word. 

His arms wrapped around him, and Kotetsu tugged him into his lap. Kotetsu’s body was like a furnace. The warmth spread into Barnaby’s veins, and when they pulled apart for air, Barnaby had no choice but to press kisses down his jaw. It made Kotetsu gasp, made him murmur something he couldn’t hear. 

They were past the time for talking. Barnaby tugged at Kotetsu’s shirt, revealing the scarred stretch of skin there, and he was halfway to seeing his chest when Kotetsu pushed away his hands. A wave of confusion spread through him. Didn’t he want this as much as he did?

When he looked up at him, Kotetsu was shaking his head. He held up his beeping wristband, and before Barnaby could beg him not to go, he was fading away, leaving only the noise in his ears as his hand hit his alarm clock. 

When was the last time he slept through to the alarm? He stared up at his plain ceiling, cheeks flushing. The reality of the situation began to set in. He, Barnaby Brooks Jr., had just had a wet dream like he was a teenager. A wet dream about _Kotetsu._

Barnaby had begrudgingly accepted his attraction to him without fuss. When Barnaby had first felt a rush when Kotetsu touched him, he knew there was no fighting it but to forget about it. He even thought he had been doing a good job of pushing it aside!

Apparently, he hadn’t done a good enough job. And now he had to think of how he would look Kotetsu in the eye with the knowledge that he had kissed him in his dreams. 

The answer, of course, was to not look at him at all.

But that was impossible. The dream seemed to let loose the subconscious part of him that had always been wanting Kotetsu. They were at the gym that day, and Kotetsu had just finished a stint on the treadmill. His shirt was soaked with sweat, and when he wiped his face, it inched up further and further. Barnaby’s mind flashed with bits of the dream, and he turned away. 

That night, he dreamed again of Kotetsu. This time, he was staring at Kotetsu from far away, watching him. It was innocuous stuff— eating rice, filling out paperwork— but just the sight of him filled him with heat. His fingers twitched with the need to touch him, and just as he was about to reach out, his eyes flung open.

Barnaby cursed his alarm as he fumbled with his pants. 

He continued avoiding Kotetsu, but that only made the dreams worse. Some of the dreams were so graphic, he didn’t think it was possible for him to even _think_ of such things. They were better than nightmares, of course, but they were their own sort of hell. He couldn’t see Kotetsu without thinking of all the things he had done and wanted to do to him. 

But something had to change. They couldn’t function as partners if Barnaby couldn’t stand to be around him. He toyed with the idea of asking Nathan or Antonio how to woo him but discarded it quickly. Even if they managed as partners, a romance between them was laughable. There was too much baggage.

The crux of it, Barnaby decided, was that Kotetsu deserved better than him. Someone who didn’t lust after him in his dreams, someone who wasn’t afraid to chase after him wholeheartedly. Someone who didn’t feel like they were one wrong mistake from falling apart. 

His next dream of Kotetsu was a picnic in the countryside. Kotetsu had kissed him, and they lounged in the sun, happy and at peace. He woke with such a sharp pain in his heart that he almost missed the nightmares. 

At least that was an ache he had been dealing with his whole life. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!


End file.
